Even in traditional Western classical music, you have triplets, 5-lets, 7-lets, etc. (I have a flute piece which opens with a 57-let iirc—I forget the exact num

Even in traditional Western classical music, you have triplets, 5-lets, 7-lets, etc. (I have a flute piece which opens with a 57-let iirc—I forget the exact number but it was large enough that there’s no way that any flautist could actually play it as written). Tempo also plays a big role. The soundtrack to Across the Universe includes slowed-down versions of “I want to hold your hand” and “Blackbird” which become almost unrecognizable thanks to a change of tempo (and instrumentation). Rhythmic variations can dramatically change the perception of a piece. I used to play a choral piece by Poulenc (“O Magnum Mysterium”) with a swung jazz rhythm and it takes a very different character when you do that (see also countless jazz reinterpretations of Beatles and other pop songs). One other piece of fun trivia: The rhythm of Hall of the Mountain King is exactly the same as the rhythm of Mary had a Little Lamb.